Wichita eagle., 1887-08-26
ON LETTER WRITING.
HOW THE BUSY HOUSEWIFE SHOULD
MANAGE HER CORRESPONDENCE.

The Earlier q Letter Is Answered After
Its Receipt the Easier 1t is to Ac-
complish-A Thing Begun is Half
Done.
It is too often the case that women VINO
have much homework TO do, and very often
those who have little, are very poor CORE
spondents. They do not mean to be so, nor
are they willfully neglectful, but they have an
idea that they must have just so much time
in which to answer a letter received, and
keep putting off writing, expecting every day
to make that time, until both writer and
letter are only remembered at odd times.
Frequently you hear such women say: II
ought to answer So-and-So's letter, but I
can't seem to get time to do it. want to
write good long one when l do write, and
I must have time toSdo it properly. must
manage to make time somehow to do it." 1t
is not very easy matter for such women to
make time, and generally the time is never
made. To make time something must be
neglected, and there are SO many things that
it is necessary that they should do at just
such times, that it is difficult to determine
just which of them to neglect There are
some things that can be put off and the neg
lect hardly noticed, and the housekeeper
knows which are the least important, and
which ones she can neglect, but she does not
want to put off anything, and works on,
thinking she will get time somehow, without
any sighting Of her work. Such woman
will seldom get the leisure she desires for
writing, and very often her correspondents
remains for years unanswered.
will I fbinly adp hot
earlier letter is answered after its receipt,
unless there are good reasons for delay, the
easier and pleasanter it is to accomplish,
while the longer it is kept waiting the moro
difficult it becomes to answer it. What at
first would have been pleasure becomes in
the end bugbear and annoyance, and the
longer it is put off the more it is avoided.
Answer a letter as soon after its receipt as
possible. Don't put it off thinking you will
have more time in the future to write a long
letter full of news. 1t will need to be of an
endless length, and veritable budget of
events, TO make up for the time lost in get
ting it ready, if at all like the majority Of
deferred correspondence.
DON'T WAIT TO WRITE
Instead of waiting to write a long letter,
commence to answer as soon as you can get
the time, and after you have once begun
there is little chance that you will not finish
it, for to most people in regard to letter writ
ing "a thing begun is half donen If not
finished at once, it can be dropped and taken
up and completed at another time soon after,
and you will be surprised at the length and
newsiness of your letter, and be better salts
fed than if you had waited as at first you
had intended to do.
If you are away from the old folks write
to them often. Let them know just how
you are getting along. To be sure you need
not let them know every little ailment. In
fact, there is no necessity for telling of every
little spell of illness in the family. You
might only say you or the children had a
slight cold, yet to them it would appear rs
though it were something more than a slight
cold, and their imagination, coupled with
their acute anxiety, invests you or the children
in dangerous malady, which they feel you
would not write about for fear of worrying
them. Avoid of all things any reference to
illness or trouble in the family, unless it Is
actually necessary that they should know. Tell
them of all pleasant things occurring in the
home-the sayings and doings of the children.
These will be of the greatest interest to them,
for they like to contrast each of the little
ones quaint sayings with some of your own
when you were a baby. If there are any
members of the family away from home, be
sure you do not neglect to write them. Have
your letters CHEEKY and bright, all the pleas
ant news you have heard, but no reference
to illness, unless dangerous, or none what
ever to trouble, if you value their peace
of mind, for most people away from home
are very like to snake mountain out of
mole hill Boston Budget.